Bringing the edge back to vegetarianism?

Good evening! Thanks so much for your patience and understanding yesterday... sometimes blogging hiatuses (hiati?) are necessary for mental health, ya know what I mean? I'm still going to blog yesterday's eats, so here we go!

Enjoyed some subway java on my way into the city yesterday:


I thought I had an eye doctor appointment yesterday, but it was actually today. Whoops! I wish I could say that was the fist time I'd done that, but I would be fibbing. So, since I was in the neighborhood, I walked over to Bloomingdales to check out the sales and ended up staying there for over 2 hours! Since I put off lunch while shopping, I did the unthinkable: scarfed down sushi in the dressing room. I'm a classy lady, what can I say?


My mom and I went to Forty Carrots for a snack. According to Mama D, it was the first place in Manhattan to serve frozen yogurt. Pretty cool, but why was this the first time I indulged? I don't know if you can tell the scale of the yogurt from this photo, but apparently it was a "small." Friends, this thing was easily over a pint of ice cream! I could barely finish half of it. It was good, but too much sweetness!

The two flavors are Caribbean Coffee and Mango.


I hauled booty to the gym and had a great workout.


30:00 minutes bike
20:00 minutes stairmaster

arm machines

ab series

Totals:
Time: 1 hour 19 minutes
Maximum heart rate: 182
Average heart rate: 142
Calories burned: 635


I picked up one of these Primal Strips at Whole Foods the other day, and ate one in the locker room for instant energy.

Thai Peanut Primal Strip:

Ingredients: Non-GMO vital gluten (wheat protein), water, unrefined evaporated cane juice, naturally brewed soy sauce (water, non-GMO soybeans, wheat, sea salt), expeller pressed canola oil, peanut butter, vinegar, fresh Thai basil, sea salt, natural vegetarian spices. No MSG.

Nutrition Facts:
Calories: 74
Total Fat: 2g, 1g saturated
Carbohydrates: 8g
Protein: 10g

Well, I certainly felt "primal" ripping into the strip in public and shredding it with my teeth. Some bits of it got stuck in there, but that might not necessarily be a bad thing... who wouldn't want to save a little taste for later, without having to worry about self-restraint? It had a nice smoky flavor, and at 74 calories and 10g of protein, need I say more? It's a great snack, and a great way to fuel up on protein. I'd definitely try these again, and there are quite a few flavors to choose from.

Stewart had a dinner party at his house, so I high-tailed it over from the gym. He'd set up a nice appetizer spread: eggplant dip, chips, veggies, nuts.



Look at all that eggplant-y goodness!


My mom made Lemon-Pepper Parmesan Crackers from the May 1993 issue of Gourmet. They were delicious, especially when smeared with eggplant.


I had quite a few chips, crackers and veggie sticks, just so I could have more of that dip.

I had a glass of Chardonnay (and another with dinner):


Stewart made the best cod (no joke) I've ever had, marinated in soy and covered with bok choy. I have to remember to ask for the recipe...


My dad brought two onion loaves from the Fannie Farmer Bread Book.


We also had Japanese rice salad with tofu:


Gingered butternut squash:



And last but not least... dessert! Cranberry walnut clafoutis (très français):


Apple raisin walnut cake. YUM.


Stewart found a great way to clean the floor: with his feet.


Winding down with clemmies and dark chocolate:


I slacked a little on the groceries this week, and when found neither yogurt or milk in the fridge I decided to have one of my favorite Queens treats (I haven't seen these anywhere else in the city): an oat & raisin bagel with low-fat cream cheese. De-lish!


Good ole $1.10 coffee:


I had a banana on my way out of the doctor's office:


The drops that the eye doctor put in to dilate my pupils did not sit well with me today. I was disoriented, my eyes were very sensitive, and (sorry to be graphic) I thought I was going to throw up. I wandered around for awhile, debating whether or not I should go to the gym, but the thought of getting up on a machine was nauseating. So, I chose the smarter road and went home to relax.

A while ago I saw Jenna make an egg/broth soup when she wasn't feeling well. I don't remember exactly how she made it, but I tried one of my own.


2 cups water
1 whole egg, beaten
2 tsp Better Than Bouillon base
fresh lemon juice
chives (or any other fresh herb)
pepper

Heat water on stove and stir in Better Than Bouillon. When water is just about to boil, remove pot from heat and stir in egg. Season with lemon juice (about 1/2 lemon), chives and pepper. Slurp and enjoy!

It was a lot of soup, but was very tasty and comforting. The egg/chive combo reminded me of the scrambled eggs my mom used to make me when I was sick... classic.

I also had some papaya with Fage 0%, crushed walnuts and honey drizzled on. Perfection.


I met Ari at Starbucks and got a Tall London Fog tea latte. It tastes just like Earl Gray tea, but I think I like the Vanilla Rooibos tea latte bettter.


Off to put on my penguin PJs and do some housework. Hope you had a wonderful day! Do you feel different now that we officially have a new president? Relief? Anything at all?

Ho, Ho, Ho!

T-minus six hours until Christymisty!

Last night before work I had a date with PB. It looks a little ominous out there by its lonesome.


Last night at work, I ordered a bowl of black bean soup (sorry for the horrible picture):


I also got some shrimp dumplings, which are pretty much invisible due to the glare. Sorry!


I had some blackberries when I got home.


This morning we woke up very early and got breakfast before the clock struck 8. Who am I and what have I done with Katie?


Bagel with lox... I probably ate about 1/20 of that cream cheese.


It was a morning for pie! Pecan pie is Ari's favorite... I'm not such a fan so I didn't have any.


A couple hours later I took Megan's suggestion and heated up this Clif bar. Very good! Ari had a bite, but the top was too "white and creamy" for him.


I hauled tail back to Manhatty and was greated by this lovely rum cake. My babysitter, who is from Jamaica, used to make this for me when I was little. So. Good. I felt like Proust and tasted my childhood as soon as I had a bite!


I had a little sliver, which I spread out to look like teeth. Santa has to chew his cookies with something!


We got Chinese food for lunch, which I've been craving. Bad choice. This place used to be delicious, but it was so bad. No flavor at all.

They were shelling a lot of beans... I discretely (although my idea of "discretion" has been greatly blurred since I became a blogger) snapped a photo...


I ordered a lunch special that started with a bowl of miso soup (thick and gluey):



A greasy spring roll:


Mushroom tofu and brown rice. I literally had one bite and lost my appetite, but I may not be able to blame that all on the food. I brought it home, so maybe I'll eat it later.



The tea was good! I had almost that whole pot to myself.


Off to find some holiday cheer, and make some gingerbread cookies with the fam. Have a great and magical night!

You'll shoot your eye out, kid!

Hiya kiddos! I'm so sorry about the posting delay. I hate posting once a day! Oh, how did I live before the blog? (Just kidding... sort of.)

I had a nice dinner at home with my parents last night. My dad made one of my favorites: a sort of Cajun-rubbed salmon. We also had garlicky broccoli and basmati rice. I enjoyed it all with a nice mug of skim milk.


We had Haagen-Daaz Vanilla Swiss Almond ice cream for dessert; it's a Lilveggiepatch family favorite. We had it with homemade passion fruit jam that we brought back from Switzerland a few years ago. The flavors had time to steep together and it was delicious on the ice cream!

We watched A Christmas Story while we ate; I had to leave before the movie was over so I'm watching it while I type this. My mom gets so excited each year because she's from Indiana, too! Apparently the house has been restored to "its original splendor," with all the old furnishings and everything!


Ari treated me to breakfast this morning at our diner. What a nice boy! Look at that fuzzy smile.


Bagel with lox it was, again! I got the cream cheese on the side, and I only spread a little on each quarter.

Breakfast was a little bigger than I'm used to, and it put me right to sleep for two hours. The epic napper is back! I had a banana and left for the gym.


We got so much snow today, and it's still coming down! I thought I got a vacation from this! Actually, I'm hoping it'll stay around until next Thursday... we haven't had a white Christmas in years.


My workout was less intense than yesterday, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't sweaty and gross by the time I was done. I was so sore when I woke up this morning. Guess I haven't done a workout like that since before my injury. My little abs (very little) hurt when I laughed! No pain, no gain, right?

Stair mill:
20:16 minutes
201 calories burned
1.57 miles
75 floors climbed

Elliptical:
10:08 minutes
102 calories burned
.89 miles

Bike:
10:00 minutes
1.5 miles
74 calories burned

Usual ab series (I added a 6-pound medicine ball to my seated twists today and yesterday, which probably added to my soreness).

I was starving when I finished, so I had half of a Pear Apple Streusel Clif Bar. I was SO EXCITED to finally find this... it's the one flavor I hadn't found! (Yes, I know it's a little sad to get so happy about a nutrition bar, but whatever.) It was pretty good, but I think I still prefer the kinds with chocolate in them.


I got home around 4:15 and made a huge salad. We conveniently had some of these Morningstar Farms Chik'n Meal starters, unopened, in the freezer from over the summer. I always forget how much I love these, which is sad because they are SO GOOD!


In my salad:
romaine
Chik'n Strips
grapes
apple (I ate most of it before it made it into my bowl; I was so hungry!)
craisins
walnuts
vinaigrette: mustard, pear-infused vinegar, olive oil, salt & pepper


I'm going to have a little snack before I go to work tonight, since I won't get to eat until midnight. Enjoy your Friday nights!

Old lady in the house

"Slow" and "old seem the be the themes of the day. I'm importing pictures on my old desktop and it is taking so long! The computer itself still works perfectly, it just needs a little extra love.

A new Japanese restaurant just opened up in our neighborhood, called Linn. It was soooo yummy: we all know how much I love sushi, and this was so fresh and delicious.

We each got a bottle of Sapporo. This made Ari a little sad...


We split some edamame:


We also split this hot and sweet sesame tofu. I've never had it before; it tastes a little like sweet custard.


For my main, I ordered an appetizer size of tuna or some sort of white porridge type thing. Sorry for the blurry picture; it did not want to be photographed!

Here's what it looks like on its own, out of the "porridge":


I also got a California roll.

They brought out two little liquor chocolates for dessert, Drambuie and Galliano flavored. We split both, but couldn't tell which one was better.


We got home from dinner around 9:30, put on Final Destination, and turned it off about 15 minutes later to go to sleep. Yes, you read correctly: we are officially an old couple. Ari ended up getting up at 2 again to work (he has the perfect schedule to be a scratch baker) but I slept until 8 and feel sooo refreshed. Schoolwork is done, and this girl is ON VACATION! WAHOO!

Leisurely breakfasts are kind of a luxury for us (expense and time-wise), but this was a lucky morning and it worked out.

Coffee with skim milk:


New York Breakfast! Toasted sesame bagel with lox, tomato, and onions (I didn't have the lettuce or olives):


Capers and cream cheese on the side:


Isn't it beautiful? Ahh, I missed this :-)


I came home to get some baking done and type up the soup recipe (read on!). When I got out of the subway, a guy was handing out samples of Cascadian Farms chocolate chip granola bars. Yum! Can't wait to try 'em.


Blurry nutrition facts:


Cowboy Charley, with one very suspicious robo eye.



As promised, here is the recipe for the Armenian Lentil Soup.

Armenian Lentil Soup, from New Recipes from Moosewood Restaurant

Serves 6

1/2 cups dried lentils
6 cups vegetable stock
1/2 cup chopped dried apricots (4 oz)
3-4 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup chopped onions
2-3 cups cubed eggplant
1 1/2 cups chopped tomatoes, fresh or canned
1 green pepper, chopped
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice (or another 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, if preferred)
1/4 teaspoon cayenne or crushed red pepper
1 tablespoon paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint

Rinse the lentils, and then bring them to a boil in the stock or water. Reduce the heat and simmer covered for 20 minutes. Add the chopped apricots and simmer covered for another 20 minute.

Meanwhile, sauté the onions in the oil until translucent, then add the eggplant and 4 or 5 tablespoons of water. Cook covered on medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the eggplant is almost tender. Add the remaining vegetables, dried spices, and salt. Cover and cook until tender, about 10 minutes

Stir the sautéed vegetables into the cooked lentil-apricot mixture and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the parsley and mint and serve.

I'm going to the store to get some Secret Santa stuff ready. Have a fantastic Tuesday!